Episode Transcript
Austin Beveridge: Welcome back to another episode of the off-market podcast. This week, we have Scott Goshorn, realtor, investor, developer, fix and flipper, and owner. He's been consistently recognized as a founder circle producer, representing the top 0.05 percent of agents. You're looking for a luxury realtor in the Los Angeles area.
So talk to us a little bit about how you got into real estate. I know that you have worked at some media agencies. And you did a stint at a settlement services company. And eventually, you went and joined the Screen Actors Guild, which I think you've been there for almost 20 years.
Scott: So I graduated from Ohio State. Sorry. I got a Ferrari racing down Cannon Drive here. What happens? So I graduated from Ohio State in 2001.
Uh, come out of here too, uh, Get into acting. Um, did 15-plus years of national commercials, booked a bunch of stuff, pretty active, you know, which is good, but I was always looking for multiple streams of income. So, uh, you know, I dabbled some other, other venues, but you know, success, either you get your money, make your money in real estate, or you make your money somewhere else and put it in real estate.
And I always knew that. I was very investor-focused as well. So I started really digging into the investor side and comically, like, you know, when I was learning about being an investor, I'm like, Oh, I'm going to have a thousand agents work for me. It's going to be this, you know, this big investor guy, you know, like, um, and I never really got my license, uh, right away.
Now, how'd I get it when I originally thought about it, you know, who knows where I'd be, it might be retired, but everything, the journey is the journey. Um, you know, my mother was a realtor as well from Ohio, pretty successful, hardworking. That's kind of still the work ethic in me and who I am, my father as well.
So I just transitioned, you know, I was doing, you know, I was still doing title and stuff. And then I transitioned to typing or excuse me, acting. That's the transition to the title. And I was essentially, we were selling Tiger since the same glass of water cost the same. It's very restricted. You have to make your water just taste better.
So I was creating these marketing plans and ideas, just thinking out-of-the-box ways to create for agents. And I was trying to get those, those deals, a couple of things I learned, a lot of agents don't do a lot of business. You're working on somebody, they're maybe doing one deal a year. I think the average realtor does two deals, two deals a year, which is kind of crazy.
So, you know, one of my friends who was an agent is like, man, you should become an agent. Like your marketing skills are way superior. You would knock it out of the park. And I'm like, you know, you're right. So I got my license first year, pretty successful. I was still doing title as well. So it's kind of like beyond standard.
I think I made six figures on both sides of my first year. And then just exponentially increased after that, you know, I became a top producer in year two. Um, never look back. Um, just finished up my 10th year in real estate and you know, just, uh, I love it. You know, we're not selling shoes here. We're selling people's castles.
Either someone's buying a castle or they're selling a castle. It's an emotional experience. So fact, logic, and reason do not factor in when you're selling your castle. You would think that it would but it is not. So I am a psychiatrist first. I'm an emotions manager and then I sell homes on the side, really what it comes down to.
Austin: I love it. I love it. You got into acting. You transitioned into realtors. You were talking about how you were giving advice to your clients and you realized that money and real estate is what you eventually end up doing. So maybe the next question I'd love to cover is what real estate's done for your life.
You grew up as a kid from Ohio. You moved out to Los Angeles, you got into film, you had a little bit of success there, and then you decided to take that success and roll it into real estate. So talk to me about how the life progression changed and what real estate did for your life. You know, I was always been good at sales.
Scott: You know, I really cut my teeth. One thing I should probably mention. I work for this company. I was making a thousand phone calls a day. I was selling automated trading systems for the futures market. Right. So zero is a hundred percent commission job? No, no. You either sink or swim. Literally making a thousand phone calls a day on a dialer.
It's a 10,000-call close, a one-call close kind of deal. So that really cut my teeth in sales, just being able to connect with people. 'cause when you're trading futures. I mean, I mean, I might be talking to a surgeon in New York or a farmer in Iowa who's hedging their own crops, right? So yeah, that's a whole different dialect change and a pace of conversation change too.
So you just got to learn how to connect with people. So really cut my teeth in that. So I was always been good at sales and. You know, it's really the vehicle. It's just kind of different types of vehicle you want to be in and you know, I love real estate. Um, again, when you're buying and selling someone's memories, it's a whole different experience than selling a pair of shoes or title insurance or something else.
Like this is somebody's having life experiences in this place that you're selling for them or they're about to buy. It's a new, you know, new family. The couple just got married. People who live there, you know, for buying side, but on the selling side, people who are downsizing, they bought, you know, I just got a great listing in Bel Air where the couple's been there 40 plus years.
Now they're downsizing into a condo. And it's like, you know, I'm, I'm selling their memories. When they used to tell me when they first bought that house and why they bought that house, it's going to be emotional for them. Right. It's a big process. So I'm going to capture that in my listing and just kind of just bring the life that home To them so to me, that's what I love about it.
It's always a different experience. I get to meet the most amazing people From all walks of life, especially when you're in this market in Los Angeles because everyone comes around the world to be here And that excites me, you know, really cool things and opportunities I get to do in this business, but it's changed my life also because the vehicle, you know, when you're able to hold a six figure paycheck in your hand from your hard work like I'm not from here, like I'm from Ohio, right?
So my office is in Beverly Hills and I've worked my ass off. Nothing was handed to me. I work very hard for what I do. I grind, I work smart. So when you're able to hold a check like that for the first time, it's a, it's pretty cool. You know, it's a very cool experience, a powerful experience. Um, and that's life-changing money and I do not take advantage of it, I do not regret, you know, like I'm appreciative of even a 3, 000 check coming in, you know, as opposed to a six-figure check.
I'm appreciative for all of it and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be able to do that. So that's why I get up and just get after it every day. Yeah. And I think that's the story of most people that we talk to. It's. It's not necessarily the biggest checks that make the most difference or the biggest impact on your career.
It's some of the, some of the times it's the smallest wins that mean or make the most impact. Um, We think honestly, like the most important part of that is for me, how I know I said my love. I don't even look at the checks anymore. I don't like when I was like, Selling tech advertising, online space advertising.
I was sweating over a 600 commission and worried about that. Like, I do not even look at my paychecks because that's not the factor for me in business. It's, it's getting these people either into their home or out of their home and doing that successfully. And I'm being truthful when I say that, like, that is why I know I love what I do.
Like, I'm not even thinking about that. I'm thinking about my result when I have to do that's the reward, but I don't even look at that stuff anymore. It's cool. Yeah. It's a cool transition. I think. People early in their careers kind of get stuck in that mentality of when's the next paycheck? How can I find the next paycheck and how can I get that paycheck as quickly as possible?
Austin: I think most of the people we've chatted with have gotten above that same mentality and they're at the same place you are, which is they don't even really care how much money they made. It's kind of irrelevant at this point. They just want to help people and they love what they do. So talk to us about the process that it took to become one of the top agents nationwide.
You obviously didn't start there. Talk to us about like, what it actually took to become part of the film. The 0. 05 percent of agents nationwide.
Scott: Um, you know, I've been a really good connector and first it takes work. You know, people think I, it just blows my mind. Do people think that realtors have an easy gig?
Like we are, we run our own business. We are our HR department. We are our marketing team. We are our sales team. We are everything, you know, like, so it takes a lot of work. It's that, you know, especially when you're coming into a place like Los Angeles and not, you know, being in Beverly Hills, like it's, you know, there's a lot of great agents here, you know, you, but you got to put in work.
So for me though, it's always about just being a very good connector. I want to see who I can help, uh, in their business and help them succeed. Ultimately people are going to repay the favor and I'm not even looking for that though. It's like, you know if I find someone that's. You know, thank you guys for your startup.
I want to help you guys, right? Like, I want to connect you. Like, who can I connect you guys with? How can I make you guys successful? Like that's been my mentality, like my whole life. I want to help other people grow and be successful and, and just have my, uh, not my hand up, not my hand out. You know, that's one thing I talked to my, my team about, you know, just how can I help others?
And that's been, you know, most successful. Combine that with good hard work and being disciplined. That's what really drives a train and being successful. And just being a straight shooter. I think that's one very important part. Like, a lot of, a lot of agents have the sunshine and unicorns business. Like, oh, everything's, you know, amazing.
You know, you gotta shoot straight. You gotta learn, you gotta understand, and learn how to brace people for bad news. And you gotta give bad news quickly. But you gotta be honest each way, the whole way. So I think for me, people will trust me, and 83 percent of my business is referral-based. That's because once people get to know me, they know I'm going to handle my shit and get it done and represent them to the best of my ability and for them.
And they appreciate that. And they refer me out to their friends and family and like, that's business, you know, that's when you know you're rolling and you have a great flywheel referral-based business from the people you've had in the past. I love it. So you talked a little bit about that flywheel.
Austin: would love to hear what one of the coolest clients that you've worked with was, if you can share who it and was, what you're looking for.
Scott: I've got a really cool escrow with a, with a musician right now, which I can't talk about, but, um, I will say, uh, I had a really cool experience.
I was able to represent Bono, um, when he was renting, he was coming in for the weekend to play in Pasadena. So I represented his team and I actually leased out his, Avicii's home for the weekend. And so, um, that was before he passed. So it was very cool. He had this sick house in the Hollywood Hills, you know, massive views, just a really cool design.
So being able to go in there and, you know, represent Bono to have him stay in Beachy South for the week. It was pretty cool. I meet a lot of celebrities and a lot of great people along the way in this journey, but that's, that's pretty cool. And it sticks out, but I've been fortunate to represent some pretty powerful clients.
Which is, uh, which is amazing. And the fact that they trust me to handle it for them, that's great. I love it. So talk to us about some of the tips that you followed, or maybe you didn't follow that helped you become part of the top 0. 05%. Like, what are some of those strategies you use? You talked a little bit about shooting people straight.
Austin: You talked a little bit about how you put the client first. You talked a little bit about how most of your clients came through referrals. But in the beginning, I've got to imagine it was just, Slinging things at the wall and hoping something worked.
Scott: Yeah, that's exactly what it was. You know, I, um, You know, when I came in here, like again, like my work ethic from a guy who was making a thousand phone calls a day, like I'm like, you know, my work ethic is high, my, my motor is high.
So when you come into a place and a lot of lackadaisical, like people working half ass, like that's just not who I am. So I knew I could work circles around a lot of people and I did, um, but it was a lot of shotgun, just like spraying a lot of spraying and praying and basing your business off hope, which a lot of agents do today.
And that is why I, you know, my team, my guys now, like I'm training, I have a whole different training system, which we can talk about, like getting them to really dial into who they're talking to, not wasting their time and spraying and praying and hope, getting people to commit, understanding the signs that people know.
Uh, if they are going to work with you or not, a lot of psychological, a lot of communication-based stuff.
But in the beginning, man, I just hustled, like I was just, uh, out work and just like fire properties off, just working really late night, putting in that work ethic, but it paid off, you know, um, and it was successful, you know, but again, like the one, the question you had asked about, like maybe going back in time, the one thing you do, if I could go back with the skills I have now, be able to shoot with laser precision and find out like, who's actually going to be working with me, who's actually not going to be working with me.
And that's why I'm helping out the boys because, you know, the time is the non, the only non-renewable commodity that we have in our life that we can't get back. So, uh, you know, I work on saving their time to be successful faster. Um, luckily I've, you know, I've had a pretty good springboard still, um, but you know, I was praying and praying brother.
I was, uh, dialing up, you know, basing my business off hope and some, some stuff stuck, some didn't, but you know, that's what worked out back then. I love it. I think it's the tenacity to just keep going that eventually, you had the flywheel, which just kept going.
Austin: I've, I've actually heard that the most successful predictor is actually just being able to survive. This means you just have to survive for long enough and eventually you'll build a name for yourself if you're doing the right things. And then the flywheel just kind of naturally builds on itself. It's a snowball that just keeps compounding.
Scott: Yeah, you're exactly right. You know, um, you have to make, you know, this, there's a lot of agents in this, in this area, but word travels fast.
So being a straight shooter, especially when the money gets real, you know, there's a lot of stuff. Sleazebag stuff that happens when you start talking six-figure paychecks, people do some shady stuff, you know, my goal was always to be, you know, work with integrity and just do straight, not only the clients but the agents, a lot of BS that flies around and people will get burned on that, you know, so, uh, having that with my work ethic really just helped propel me, you know, into the next level and just keep growing.
Austin: The latest NAR study just came out and said 50 percent of all agents didn't sell a single property last year. Sell or buy represents either or close a transaction. And now you have this NAR settlement that's coming out and we've seen a transition, of realtors from the buy side who historically would get leads from some of the largest Real estate listing platforms now switching over to the self side.
They're trying to scramble and figure out where they're going to get their leads from. What's your take on those agents and how can people who are in that position who aren't quite sure what they need to do succeed in the new market?
Scott: Look, it's again, a lot of hope-based business model. You're like, you know, your whole goal should be wanting to be a listing agent.
You know, look, you know, It's just logic, right? I can probably work with five good buyers and represent them well as a buyer's agent, right? Like that's just because it's your time like you just like the hunting the showings all this that like and you know Make sure they're willing to commit to you I get your time a lot of you just don't ask for the buyer broker agreements My team always does we've been doing that because I want people to commit to me If they're going to commit to me with my time like I am not going to work with you, but a lot of agents do not do that.
They just want to feel busy and hope that someone's going to work with them without actually asking them for that business and asking them to commit. Like, like Mr. Buyer, if I'm going to bust my ass and hunt and look for off-market properties, And, you know, put up showings, a schedule and plan all this and take five hours out of my day to show you.
You best believe I want your commitment to work back with me because I'm going to represent you well. But a lot of people don't do that, man. It's like, it's mind-blowing. But now it's going to become a regular part of business, which is great that you have to have a buyer broker agreement in California to work with somebody.
But another here's another loophole through agents like well, what if I don't get them an exclusive? It's a nonexclusive buyer-broker agreement. I'm like that again. That is so weak-minded I am not ever going to work with them on a nonexclusive They got to be exclusive to me, right? But there's a checkmark in there and a lot of agents would bring that up like, you know So again, it's a lot of hope-based, uh thinking when it comes to that Um, but to me, you know I've always been, I've worked with some buyers, but I've always been a listing agent and I listed, you can run a successful listing business with 100, 200 listings.
You have to have some team behind it, but compared to working with five buyers, same age, you can represent, you know, roll 10, 20 listings, 30 listings, and you know, have a dialed-in business, but you have to have your processes down. You have to have your systems down. A lot of agents don't have that yet. I did that.
I like it, I've been an agent for 10 years. I did that like seven years ago. I wanted to start creating my systems and processes. Okay. So I can scale my business. Um, so a lot of agents don't have that. So they, they need to have that and you start getting your systems down. Um, but again, if you're already thinking about that, it's, you know, probably a little too late, but you know, in last year, last year sucks.
When rates go from 2. 5 percent to 8. 5%, yeah. You know, fortunately, you know, we did do some business. It wasn't my best year by any stretch. Like we, it was, it was brutal, but the silver lining for that is like, you know, All the agents that come in when the market's hot, everyone can fog a beer and start selling home.
So you think it's so easy. This it's not an easy game, you know, and you'll find out very quickly. So look you just got to uh, But if you want to start getting listings, you got a door knock circle press prospect get your face out there You know, you got to hustle you actually have to do work You know if people want the magic pill when you know when you interview people probably like what's the magic pill?
This is your magic pill. You've got to be consistent in your business You know, you got to get at least 25 conversations of real estate a day If you're not doing that, you're not going to make money and that is the minimum You You know, that is minimum to get things rolling and it might take two or three months to get that right.
But guess what? If you were consistent in your practices every day, you started getting on the phones and having conversations. Letting people know what you're doing, but again, it's a, it's like, it's not even about, it's just about just connecting with people. There are people who know you. You don't need to talk about real estate to people who know you.
You don't want to have that weirdness in the air, like, Hey, I'm just going, Hey Jim, what's going on? You want to connect with people and be curious about what's going on in their lives. They know you're an agent, but people that don't, yeah, you got to talk to them and say, Hey, you thinking about selling? You're probably not, but you know, uh, what are we thinking about this market right now?
Start getting those conversations going. You've got to do that every day to be consistent and the business will come. You just have to trust that it will come. It might take three months, but all of a sudden it'll come, you know, come from that guy and you're the first week of phone calls. But you've got to be consistent in your practices and you got to put in work.
This, this game is not easy. You know, we're, it's, it's not an easy market. Buying and selling is not easy and being an agent is not easy. So you got to put in the practice and the work.
Austin: The last question is the one piece of advice if you could go do it all over again start at day one. What’s the one piece of advice you can give yourself? What would that one-line zinger be?
Scott: I think it's tough because I'm learning stuff now that I didn't wasn't really even available back then You know my account my communications Like we're doing something like probably a hundred agents across the United States are currently like getting into that.
Most people start finding out more, you know, the never gave-up part. I did. All right. I grinded through and got that. I think, um, probably getting people just to commit more. I think, you know, getting, getting people to commit asking for them for that commitment because I didn't do a lot of hoping and praying like most people are doing today.
You know, sometimes it worked out, you know, sometimes it didn't, you know, but being, you know, but just communicating and just being able to try to read people because everyone has their decision made up generally when they're going on a listing appointment and they're working with buyers, but asking for that, getting that commitment for them to work with you because If they don't want to work with you, then rather know now than later, that's, that's the key.
You want to know now if someone's going to, if you're not going to waste six months of your time, like sitting guy property and all of a sudden he buys with somebody else's cousin. So that'd probably be the biggest, just, just communicate and try to get people to commit upfront. Now there's like, now it's going to be easier for people in the buying side because they have to.
But firming up that relationship with people. So you were able to put your time because there are people that want to work. They knew they're out there, but you got to find it, you know, you'll connect better with them, you know, and like working a bad lead, like, man, continue on with the bad part. Like there's a lot of, like, we want to work with else easy, lucrative and fun, just good people that connect with you.
You want to work with people that are just like energy vampires that suck your time. Sometimes you have to, if you need money, really you're grinding through something. But the people are trying to grind on you and try to trim you down. That's just the opening of the door of what's really going to happen down the road.
It's just going to be, it's just going to be a shit sandwich that you might not want to eat. Yeah, that's true. And that's true throughout life and many different industries.
Austin: Thanks so much, Scott, for coming on the podcast and I hope you have a great day.
Scott: All right, brother. Thanks for your time. Best of luck to you boys.
